At first, Xie Lan had sworn he’d leave that very night.
But one day turned into another, and two months passed.
She never did see him leave. Instead, she began to notice that the way he looked at her was getting stranger and stranger.
Jiang Wangsheng felt uneasy. That day happened to be a weekend, and she nervously told him that he absolutely had to leave that night.
The man said nothing, only looking at her with an increasingly dark gaze.
He said all right.
Jiang Wangsheng breathed a sigh of relief.
That evening, he said he wanted to shower before leaving. She figured a little longer wouldn’t make any difference, so she agreed.
“Miss Jiang, I forgot to bring my bath towel in. Could you get it for me?”
Jiang Wangsheng glanced at the towel draped over a chair and hurriedly replied, “Sure.”
She went to get it, but for some reason her foot suddenly slipped.
She pushed open the bathroom door and landed right on top of the naked man.
By the time Jiang Wangsheng came to her senses and looked up at him, her face was already burning red.
“I… I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!” She hurriedly shoved the towel into his hands, then rushed out.
She sat on the sofa, trying to calm herself. When the man came out after his shower, he smelled pleasantly of body wash.
Jiang Wangsheng felt terribly awkward. She used the same body wash every day, so why did it feel so strange to smell it on Xie Lan?
The man sat down across from her. Only then did she realize that he had wrapped a towel around his lower half and was bare-chested. The sight of his abs and muscles made her even more afraid to look up.
While she couldn’t see him, Xie Lan’s lips curled into a smile.
“Miss Jiang…”
“Yes!”
They both froze.
Xie Lan laughed. “Why do you seem so nervous?”
Jiang Wangsheng shook her head.
Then he said, “I’m a very traditional man.”
“Now that Miss Jiang has seen me naked, you’ll take responsibility, won’t you?”
Jiang Wangsheng stared at him in shock.
“Ah… What?”
Seeing her expression, the man looked dejected and disappointed. “My family is very traditional. Since things have gone this far… we have to date.”
“Because I’m not pure anymore.”
“?”
Jiang Wangsheng stared at him blankly, as if his words had frightened her.
Xie Lan didn’t miss the shock and guilt on her face. He’d known it.
The little white rabbit was sweet and easy to fool.
When she remained dazed, the man suddenly stood up.
“I’ve imposed on you for so many days. Just forget what I said. I was talking nonsense.”
Xie Lan returned to his room and took his time getting dressed. Then he put back on the same worried expression he’d worn earlier.
He walked out, and Jiang Wangsheng followed him to the door.
“Miss Jiang, you don’t have to see me off. I’ll head back…”
“Thank you so much for taking care of me all these days.”
His expression wasn’t especially grim, but it still made her feel deeply uncomfortable.
Had he meant what he said?
She ventured, “Xie Lan, what just happened… it was an accident. Couldn’t you just forget about it?”
Xie Lan replied in a low voice, “Miss Jiang, I can’t just forget about it.”
“After all, I’m the one who was seen naked.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
Jiang Wangsheng watched his back, her brow furrowing more and more.
The man was about to get on the bus when Jiang Wangsheng ran after him.
His back looked lonely and desolate. She couldn’t help thinking that, over all this time, though his gaze could sometimes be unsettling, he had also helped her a lot.
He could cook, and sometimes he even helped her study.
His words made no sense to her, but she was the one at fault. She hadn’t meant to see him naked, but it had happened.
Jiang Wangsheng’s face was plainly full of remorse.
She had never heard of anything like this before.
The man heard the hurried footsteps behind him, as if each step were landing right on his heart.
He slowed down.
She caught hold of his sleeve.
Xie Lan turned around and saw the fine sweat at her temples and her slightly flushed cheeks.
The hot weather—and the hand clutching his sleeve—were both clammy with warmth.
Jiang Wangsheng looked at his face, hesitated, then gritted her teeth and said, “All right. Let’s date.”
After all, she had seen him naked. She had to take responsibility.
The dark depths of Xie Lan’s eyes were like a stone dropped into a deep, still pool, sending ripples spreading across the water.
The coat in his hand slipped to the ground.
Jiang Wangsheng was locked in his embrace, his strong arms holding her so tightly she felt as if he might press her into his body.
He breathed in the scent of the body wash on her, the same as his and yet somehow different. Sure enough, no matter how long he spent in the bathroom, it was still her scent that intoxicated him most.
Just a little body wash spilled on the floor, and a door left ajar—
That was all it took to fulfill the desire and delusion that had been growing wildly in him all this time: to have her.
He knew she was pure, but he hadn’t realized she was this innocent.
He slowly opened his eyes. The corner of his mouth curled up, his expression full of infatuation and sickness.
“All right, Baby.”
…